MMA Oddsbreaker Rankings Update Sep 14, 2013

With so many events in rapid succession, the MMA Oddsbreaker rankings were bound to see some shake ups, and that’s exactly the case in this update, as every weight class other than Welterweight and Bantamweight see some sort of change.

Pound-for-Pound

The two biggest changes in the pound-for-pound rankings both feature fighters dropping out of the rankings rather than those joining them. After being defeated for the second time by Anthony Pettis — who makes his own debut at #10 — former UFC lightweight champion Benson Henderson drops from #5 out of the rankings entirely. Also, due to his prolonged inactivity, UFC bantamweight champion Dominick Cruz also drops out of the rankings. Renan Barao jumps in to take Cruz’s spot, and actually moves one notch higher, as he debuts at #5.

One big change at heavyweight, and it comes in the form of Josh Barnett making a long awaited return to the UFC. He did so emphatically, knocking out Frank Mir inside the first round at UFC 164, and vaulted himself from #10 to #6 in the rankings, forcing everyone else down a notch.

Just like heavyweight, only one big change at 205. With his comeback KO over Ryan Bader, Glover Teixeira leapfrogs former champions Rashad Evans and Dan Henderson into the #6 spot. Although there are some fighters ahead of him in our rankings, Teixeira is on deck for the next crack at the title Jon Jones and Alexander Gustafsson will be contesting at UFC 165 on September 21st.

It was Ronaldo ‘Jacare’ Souza’s right hand, not his grappling, that carried him from the #9 spot all the way up to #4 as he dispatched Yushin Okami with ease. Souza now enters a league with Vitor Belfort, as both are simply waiting for the saga between Chris Weidman and Anderson Silva to reach its conclusion.

A couple of moves at 155, and the first is no shock. Anthony Pettis moves to the #1 spot with his stunning submission of Benson Henderson at UFC 164. The other big change comes in the form of Rafael dos Anjos garnering his most impressive victory with a decision over Donald Cerrone. Finally, Gleison Tibau slides into the 15th spot of the rankings following his victory over Jamie Varner.

With his entertaining win over Erik Koch at UFC 164, Dustin Poirier makes the biggest move in the featherweight division by jumping from #12 to #7. Not to be outdone, Darren Elkins debuts all the way up at #10 by virtue of his win over Hatsu Hioki.

One big change at 125 pounds comes in the form of the oft-underrated Tim Elliott moving from being unranked to the #6 spot after dominating Louis Gaudinot. Heavy-hitting, weight-missing Brazilian John Lineker also moves up the rankings from #7 to #5. If it weren’t for the domination of Joseph Benavidez, either man would be deserving of the next crack at champion Demetrious Johnson, but the fight fans want to see at this point is a rematch of the inaugural flyweight title fight from September 2012.